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Mary Yannopoulos’ charity provides aid to disadvantaged young women in Grenada

Andriana Simos
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Mary Yannopoulos’ charity provides aid to disadvantaged young women in Grenada

Greek Australian, Mary Yannopoulos, always wanted to start her own charity to help disadvantaged people. At the time, she was managing her husband’s dental practice in Marrickville until eventually she decided to start her own mortgage broking business, Skybridge Capital Pty Ltd.

For many, juggling so many different hats would prove a challenge. Not for Mary. In fact, eight years ago she decided to take on more responsibility and make her true dream a reality. She founded the ‘For the Girls of Grenada Inc.’ charity.

“I have previously sponsored World Vision and then I realised that not all the funds go directly to where they’re supposed to go, so I wanted to do something myself,” Mary tells The Greek Herald exclusively.

Mary Yannopoulos (far right) in Grenada. Photo supplied.

“Eight years ago, my son-in-law went to work at the hospital in Grenada for six months and while he was living there, he got to see the way of life and the poverty. When he came back he said, ‘I think you should go to Grenada and try to help there.’ And that’s when I took it on.”

Since then, Mary has visited Grenada four times and witnessed for herself the prevalence of sexual assault by family members and poverty experienced by young women and children of the island.

Mary has visited Grenada four times with her charity ‘For the Girls of Grenada Inc.’ Photo supplied.

“We went to the hospital and found that there was no hand sanitiser on the wall, there was no soap, there were no gloves or masks. There are babies dying from poor hygiene,” Mary explains.

“The girls that fall pregnant to their father’s, some of them just leave the babies on the streets and they end up in hospital, waiting for a home to go to. So it’s a really hard life over there.”

‘For the Girls of Grenada Inc.’ has fortunately been able to help about 80-120 of these local families by providing basic life necessities and ongoing mentoring.

The charity has been able to help about 80-120 families experiencing poverty in Grenada. Photo supplied.

This comes despite Mary being out-of-action throughout 2021 due to health complications. Whilst on the surface the charity itself stood still, behind the scenes its incredible work remained very much alive and moving.

“Three more of our girls graduated from TAMCC college studies, whilst one more joined. Another one of the girls started their higher education within Nursing school, and a further four more are also looking to apply,” Mary explains.

This is something Mary says she’s incredibly proud of as it wouldn’t have been possible without the support of the local community.

The charity raises money to help young women in Grenada get through college. Photo supplied.

“It is the hurdles that we face in life that make us stronger. My desire to help the girls only burned even brighter this year,” she concludes. 

A worthy cause from a woman who has truly been able to fulfill her dream of helping disadvantaged people in this world.

This year ‘For the Girls of Grenada Inc.’ has partnered with @official.love.ally to launch the #THISGIRLCAN collection: curated home décor candles made from a premium beeswax blend to support the @girlsofgrenada. It is the perfect gift for Mother’s Day and will inspire change. Find out more here: www.girlsofgrenada.org/shop-to-donate.

Vicky Staikopoulos: Changing Australia’s wool industry a micron at a time

Argyro Vourdoumpa
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Vicky Staikopoulos: Changing Australia’s wool industry a micron at a time

An Australian neuroscientist of Greek heritage, Dr Vicky Staikopoulos is the Managing Director and co-founder of Woven Optics, a South Australian agricultural start-up building technological solutions for wool growers.

But Vicky is more than that. 

She is the mother of two, a qualified secondary school teacher, an active member of the Port Adelaide Greek Community and the living proof that moving across sectors in a society that becomes more technologically oriented is not unattainable.

“By the end of the PhD, I think I could probably tell you more about sheep wool than I could about my own thesis, because I became so embedded in it… You know, one-micron at a time can make a difference and generate revenue for farmers,” she says, explaining how her career in medical research led her to design a handheld device that captures data of wool fibres with Woven Optics co-founder Ben Pullen.

“After many years working in basic research, I found myself wanting to be able to do more with the tools I was working with and to translate what we learned at the lab bench to solving problems in the medical or other fields which required solutions now,” says Vicky. 

“This led myself and Ben to enrol in the University of Adelaide Tech eChallenge, an entrepreneur course designed to take you through the processes of designing a tech-based idea, assessing its feasibility, and then developing a way to create it.”

Dr Vicky Staikopoulos with Woven Optics co-founder Ben Pullen

Throughout the course Vicky and Ben met with people from the Australian wool industry who approached us to discuss how they may use their medical research skills to solve agricultural problems. 

“Once we understood what the problem was, we proposed to create a device that could capture data of wool fibres and provide a quality measure in real-time. This was based on techniques that we were familiar with from our medical research training, and the rest of the required technical skills we knew we could fill by teaming up with others to test the feasibility of our idea.”

After testing their idea in the lab and determining there was a real need for their device in the wool industry, Vicky and Ben established Woven Optics in 2018 and ever since they have continued their research and development to create the first 2 prototypes of their device.

“It’s a handheld piece that takes an image of your wool and then runs an AI algorithm over the top, and is able to spit out a value in real time. It’s taken this long to be able to get there. But this project was literally accidental and curiosity-led.”

With their device Vicky and Ben hope to help farmers increase the quality of their wool, reduce labour costs and streamline their produce by assessing the flock and the quality of wool from the breeding stage. 

Australia is currently the largest exporter of greasy wool, producing 39% of world exports with China being the largest market and although innovation in agriculture is not a new phenomenon, Agricultural technology or Agtech, is set to become Australia’s next $100 billion industry by 2030 

“At the moment there’s a demand for highest quality fiber and to breed fibers of fine quality it all comes down to sort of genetic selection to some extent. Being able to do that during your breeding time is quite powerful to the grower,” says Vicky. 

Vicky Staikopoulos with her children

But despite the potential and the monumental growth, Agtech like other industries is also facing challenges. 

“There’s a lot of young growers now that are coming through the next generation and they’re much more tech savvy. The biggest thing that I’ve found in terms of our own company, is the lack of remote connectivity. 

“For someone who wants to do any real time data collection, this becomes a little problematic. We need to catch up with this matter in order to facilitate more technology for agricultural use in remote areas.”

“It’s all about helping our farmers and the community,” Vicky says.

When she mentions community, I can’t help but ask her about the vibrant Port Adelaide Greek Community, where she grew up.

She talks about her experience volunteering at the Semaphore Festival and encouraging non-Greek friends to experience the culture, how she enjoyed teaching the language to Port Adelaide Greek School students and her time as the school’s Deputy Principal. 

“I loved it. I really enjoyed it. I applied the same approach in teaching as I do in research. 

I’m hoping that I can go back when things calm down with the company, because it’s more of a passion for me,” she says.

“We need to be able to work with the broader community that we’re in. I think that’s something that I’ve picked up from the Port Adelaide community, because they do that really well. 

“They’re proud of their heritage, but they don’t save it just for them. They share it outside of that. That, for me is huge.”

Asked for her advice to the next generation of aspiring scientists, Agtech entrepreneurs, students or people who just decided to make a career shift, Vicky has a piece of wisdom to offer.

“Keep an open mind and be curious.” 

‘A story of friendship that needs to be told’: Minister Gee on Lemnos Remembrance Trail

The Greek Herald
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‘A story of friendship that needs to be told’: Minister Gee on Lemnos Remembrance Trail

By Ilias Karagiannis and Argyro Vourdoumpa.

The historical imprint of the Gallipoli campaign during the First World War is so significant that the events of that time have firmly resisted the ravages of time.

Through the testimonies of the past, historical memory is not lost in inexorable oblivion, and thus younger generations can understand the magnitude of the sacrifices of their ancestors.

A monument that will be the material evidence of the historical narrative of that troubled era is to be financed by the Federal Government of Australia on the island of Lemnos, as reported first by The Greek Herald hours after the federal budget was delivered.

About $4.9 million will be provided to build the Lemnos Remembrance Trail on Lemnos in order to honour the sacrifices of Australian soldiers, doctors and nurses who found themselves on the Greek island during the Gallipoli campaign.

The project, that will further enhance the close ties between Australia and Greece will be delivered by the Australian Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA) and maintained by the Greek Government upon its completion, as agreed in a Memorandum of Understanding signed by the two countries.

To find out more about this initiative, constructions for which are expected to begin in July 2022 and conclude in the middle of 2023, The Greek Herald spoke with the Australian Veterans’ Affairs Minister, Andrew Gee, and the Mayor of the island of Lemnos, Dimitris Marinakis.

The Australian Pier Memorial on the shores of Lemnos’ Mudros Bay, erected in 2018. Photograph Jim Claven 2018.

Minister Gee: “A story of friendship between Greece and Australia that needs to be told”

Minister for Veterans Affairs, Andrew Gee, described the Remembrance Trail on Lemnos as “a significant project that will help Australians better understand, and honour, the service and sacrifice of Australian diggers, nurses and doctors who served at Lemnos with great distinction during the First World War.”

“Lemnos played a key role in the Gallipoli campaign for Australia and New Zealand, and our allies. It was a staging and support base, as well as a place of care for our sick and wounded. An estimated 50,000 Anzacs passed through Lemnos over the course of the campaign,” Mr Gee continued.

“It’s a story of friendship between Greece and Australia that needs to be told.”

The First Australian and New Zealand nurses as they arrived on the island of Lemnos in 1915

In 2019, the Government provided $500,000 to fund a scoping study to develop initial concepts for the project.

“Now that we have completed this study, consultation with the Hellenic Government of Greece, the Greek community in Australia and the community of Lemnos, we are now in a position to go ahead with construction of the Remembrance Trail,” Minister Gee said.

The ‘Remembrance Trail’ will help visitors tour the sites of the island where their Australian ancestors went, while at the same time explaining in detail the historical significance of specific areas of the island.

“The ‘Trail’ will exist in digital form, which means that people from all over the world will be able to explore it,” Minister Gee explained.

Mayor Marinakis: “Australia has honoured Lemnos many times”

Mayor of Lemnos, Dimitris Marinakis, also spoke about the decision of the Australian Government to invest in the construction of the Remembrance Trail.

“This decision underlines the close historical relations of Lemnos with Australia and the lively interest that exists today in highlighting important aspects of our common history. The passing through of the Anzacs in Lemnos is an important aspect of the island’s history,” Marinakis said.

“The relationships that formed between the Anzacs and the local community are still very much alive and we thank the Australian Government, the Australian Embassy in Greece and all the Associations who have supported and keep supporting initiatives like this.”

“We look forward to seeing this ambitious project completed and we are sure it will become a pole of attraction for visitors and an important part of other points of interest on the island related to Anzacs like the Allied Cemetery of Mudros or the Portianos Military Celemetery,” the Mayor said.

READ MORE: Lemnos Gallipoli Commemorative Committee welcome Remembrance Trail announcement

Andrew Liveris on his big plans for the Brisbane Olympics 2032

The Greek Herald
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Andrew Liveris on his big plans for the Brisbane Olympics 2032

The new boss of the 2032 Brisbane Olympic Games, Andrew Liveris, has opened up in an interview with The Australian Financial Review about his big plans for the iconic event.

Mr Liveris said one of his main aims for the Games is to showcase Brisbane as a “global city,” but also ensure the event will not be a financial burden to Queensland or Australia.

“By accepting this job I am staking my reputation on everything to do with this project,” Mr Liveris told the newspaper.

READ MORE: Andrew Liveris to head Brisbane 2032 Olympics preparations.

Andrew Liveris.

“I care about this enormously. I care about the fiscal side as much as I do about every other aspect. It cannot be a burden to the citizens of the state or city or country. I will work hard to deliver what is expected of us. That’s my assignment.”

Mr Liveris made this statement on Wednesday at the launch of the new Liveris Academy and School of Chemical Engineering at the University of Queensland.

READ MORE: Andrew Liveris prepares to lead new push for a global carbon price.

FULL INTERVIEW: The Australian Financial Review.

Alleged fraudster Bill Papas makes legal bid to suppress former lawyer’s evidence

The Greek Herald
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Alleged fraudster Bill Papas makes legal bid to suppress former lawyer’s evidence

Alleged fraudster, Bill Papas, has made a legal bid in the Federal Court to block potentially sensitive details being revealed by his former lawyer Rocco Panetta, The Australian reports.

Mr Papas said giving Westpac access to the documents provided by Mr Panetta when he previously represented the Forum figure, could risk breaching legal privilege.

READ MORE: Westpac hits a wall in extraditing Bill Papas from Greece.

Westpac argued it was inappropriate that Mr Papas could appoint a legal representative to tackle the limited question of document access.

Bill Papas.

According to The Australian, Federal Court Justice Michael Lee ordered Westpac and Mr Papas’ barrister write written arguments as to the question of representation in relation to the access to Mr Panetta’s subpoenaed documents.

Westpac’s case comes after the bank uncovered an alleged fraud scheme by Mr Papas. He stands accused of forging signatures to fraudulently obtain almost $500 million in loans from Westpac and other banks. 

READ MORE: Bill Papas the focus of investigation by Australian current affairs show.

Source: The Australian.

Stavros Niarchos Foundation to give $1 million aid to those affected by Ukraine war

The Greek Herald
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Stavros Niarchos Foundation to give $1 million aid to those affected by Ukraine war

The Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) announced on Wednesday that it will be providing $1 million in emergency relief grants to aid those affected by the current war in Ukraine.

In a statement, the SNF said the grants will go towards helping six organisations “leverage their local knowledge and ties to deliver essential emergency relief.”

The six organisations are: Doctors of the World Spain, Choose Love, Lumos Foundation, Melissa Network, Save the Children USA, Doctors without Borders USA.

“The dire needs in Ukraine are plain to see, and we must collaborate, each according to our abilities, to help meet them,” the SNF Co-President, Andreas Dracopoulos, said.

“We are grateful for these six organizations and the extensive on-the-ground experience they bring to helping address this tragic situation.”

Full list of the organisations and the work they do:

1. Direct aid on the ground in Ukraine:

  • Doctors of the World Spain, the vast majority of whose local staff are Ukrainian, is supplying traumatology and surgical materials to 20 hospitals in Ukraine.
  • Choose Love works with local grassroots organisations to aid vulnerable people on the move and in Ukraine they are helping provide essentials like food, hygiene supplies and bedding.
  • Lumos Foundation seeks to end the institutionalisation of children and has worked in Ukraine, which before the invasion had one of the highest rates of children living in orphanages and other institutions in Europe.
Doctors of the World in Ukraine. Photo: doctorsoftheworld.org.

2. Supporting Ukrainian refugees arriving in Greece:

  • Melissa Network is taking a pioneering bottom-up approach to supporting Ukrainian refugees in Greece. They assist existing Ukrainian networks in the country by offering a coordinated response, services to safeguard children’s resilience, psychosocial support for new arrivals and locals alike, as well as help accessing employment and legal services.

3. Addressing the immediate threats the war poses to people around the world:

  • Save the Children USA is working to address the global food emergency threatening to increase hunger and malnutrition for millions of children, triggered by the fact that together Ukraine and Russia supply over a quarter of the world’s wheat and the war is cutting off essential food supplies for many countries.
  • Doctors Without Borders USA wants to make sure that, as the world’s attention focuses on Ukraine, the people affected by “neglected” crises elsewhere in countries such as Western Asia and Central Africa, are not forgotten and receive the health care they urgently need.

Greek PM: Unemployment drop in 2019 – 2022 greatest in the EU

The Greek Herald
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Greek PM: Unemployment drop in 2019 – 2022 greatest in the EU

During an address to Greek Parliament on Wednesday, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis told MPs that Greece has achieved the greatest drop in unemployment in the European Union, Ekathimerini reports.

The statement was made during a debate on the government’s new jobs bill.

“Despite great obstacles, data shows that our efforts are paying off: from the summer of 2019 to February 2022, unemployment dropped from 17.2% to 12.8%,” Mitsotakis said.

“It’s the greatest drop in Europe, and means that over 200,000 new jobs were created and we surpassed the threshold of 4 million employed.”

The Greek PM noted however that the improvement in the job figures was not a cause for celebration, as Greece continues to have the second highest unemployment rate in Europe after Spain, “and a chronic problem of low wages.”

The government’s pledge to increase the minimum wage for a second time this year will take effect on May 1.

Source: Ekathimerini.

Zeibekiko and Bouzouki given ‘Intangible Cultural Heritage’ status

The Greek Herald
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Zeibekiko and Bouzouki given ‘Intangible Cultural Heritage’ status

One of the most beloved dances and rhythms in Greece, the Zeibekiko, and its popular musical accomplice, the bouzouki, have been inducted into the National Inventory of Intangible Cultural Heritage.

Greece’s Ministry of Culture and Sports inscribed both the dance, as well as the three-stringed and four-string bouzouki, the tzouras and the baglamas to its list of ‘Intangible Cultural Heritage.’

Mary Linda is a Greek folk singer. Manolis Chiotis was a Greek rebetiko and laiko composer, singer, and bouzouki player.

Culture Minister, Lina Mendoni said: “Throughout Greece and the communities of the diaspora, the movement of the Zeibekiko and the sound of the bouzouki are a pure expression of the Greek repertoire and are based on a long tradition of intangible cultural heritage.”

“The inclusion of Zeibekiko and bouzouki in the National Inventory of Intangible Cultural Heritage contribute decisively to the study and preservation of these important elements that have determined the Greek sound, both within the country and abroad,” the Minister concluded.

What is Zeibekiko? 

Zeibekiko is a style of dance tied to Greek cultural identity, being celebrated and performed throughout Greece and communities of the diaspora.

Historically characterised as a ‘battle dance’ between two armed men, its name comes from the ‘Zeybeks’ – an irregular army from the Aegean Region of the Ottoman Empire from the late 17th through to the early 20th century. 

In 1922, with the mass population exchange between Greece and Turkey, the dance, along with its synonymously recognised music became widely popular on the mainland with the urban poor and working classes. 

What soon evolved was an improvised style of dance or the ‘drunk man’s dance’ as it has come to be known today, characterised by ‘aeroplane arms’ and circular movements.

Described as a “choreographic embodiment of defiance”, it comes as no surprise that one’s  Zeibekiko is typically partnered with a glass of whisky or a cigarette. 

READ MORE: Key tips to slay a Zeibekiko

What is the bouzouki? 

The bouzouki, or the long-necked plucked lute of Greece, is a musical instrument with a round wooden body, accompanied by metal strings arranged in threes or fours over a fretted fingerboard. The smaller versions are known as the tzouras and baglamas.

Bouzouki, tzouras and baglamas in order. Pinterest user Antonis Asimakopoulos

The bouzouki, whilst traditionally used for dancing and entertainment at social gatherings, also possesses a patchy past. In the early 20th-century, the instrument became a staple instrument of the Rebetika: the music of the outlaws.

Today, the stringed instrument is synonymous with all things Greek, being the lead instrument of the Rebetika and Laika (folk) songs.

Rebetika: the music of outlaws.

Source: Greece Is

Rethymno wins European Sustainable Urban Mobility Award

Chris Spyrou
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Rethymno wins European Sustainable Urban Mobility Award

The Cretan city of Rethymno has been crowned the winner of the EU Urban Road Safety Award by the European Commission.

The awards ceremony took place in Brussels on March 28, 2022, with Rethymno out-performing the Italian city of Florence and the Polish city of Warsaw.

Four awards were issued by the Commission including two EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK Awards, one Sustainable Urban Mobility Planning Award and the EU Urban Road Safety Award.

The award-winning municipality was praised by the jury for its “inclusive approach” to road safety, which targets three main pillars:

  1. upgrading the public transport system,
  2. increasing and encouraging behavioural change through a variety of activities, and
  3. the establishment of integrated cooperation with local stakeholders.
Rethymno. Photo: CIVITAS.

Rethymno’s road to sustainability:

In 2011, the Cretan city became a signatory to the Covenant of Mayors in which it pledged to take action against climate change. 

More recently, Rethymno also partnered with CIVITAS in 2020.

CIVITAS was launched in 2002 and is one of the flagship programmes helping the European Commission achieve its ambitious mobility and transport goals that envisage zero net emissions of greenhouse gases by 2050.  

Rethymno’s Mayor, Giorgos Marinakis, told CIVITAS DESTINATIONS in August 2020 that the city “is only at the beginning of what once seemed only a vision. It is our obligation to protect the environment and the quality of life of our citizens.”

WATCH: Giorgos Marinakis discuss Rethymno’s partnership with CIVITAS in 2020.

Since partnering with CIVITAS, the city has accessed over 1.6 million euros in funding, investing in e-transport, as well as improving road safety and disability access through education programs and inclusive infrastructure.

Presently, Rethymno is home to Greece’s first electric bus, 315 e-scooters, 89 e-bikes, 24 sets of countdown traffic lights, 15 ‘smart’ and solar panelled bus stops, three electric vehicle charging stations, as well as city-wide disability structures.

Greece’s first e-bus. Photo: CIVITAS
E-Scooters. Photo: CIVITAS
One of 24 countdown traffic lights in Rethymno. Photo: European Mobility Week
One of two automated railed chairs for disabled persons in Rethymno. Photo: CIVITAS.

Prior to their partnership, CIVITAS found that 60% of the city’s commuters travelled by car and only 5% by bicycle.

Mayor Marinakis expects that with their renewed educational efforts and availability of free charging stations, citizens will be drawn to e-transport and will be “motivated to use this easy and modern type of energy.”

Historic Corinth Canal to reopen in July

The Greek Herald
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Historic Corinth Canal to reopen in July

After experiencing a series of landslides between January and July last year that made it inaccessible, the Corinth Canal will reopen for navigation from July 5.

The historic canal which separates the mainland of Greece from the Peloponnese Peninsula has been closed for transport since January last year and has been undergoing active restoration works since February this year.

Photo: Up Stories

The 32 million euro restoration project was approved in December 2021 and is currently underway, with the existing damage being repaired and the structure being strengthened.

According to a press release issued by the Corinth Canal SA, the canal will open from July 5 but will close again at the end of October 2022, when restoration works will resume.

The publicly-funded works, while “complex,” are “of national importance,” says the Ministry of Development and Investments.

READ MORE: 5 fast facts about the Corinth Canal

Photo: Vassilis Psomas/AMNA

The man-made canal has been operational since July 1893 and links the central Mediterranean Sea to the Saronic Gulf of the Aegean. Its historical purpose was to save ships from making the dangerous 700-kilometre voyage around the coastline of the Peloponnese Peninsula.  

The 21.3 metre-wide canal, while too narrow for modern and larger cargo ships, is used today by tourists and cruise lines.

READ MORE: Eleni Efthimiou becomes first Greek Australian to swim across the Corinth Canal  

Source: Insights Greece, Ekathimerini and NASA. 

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